Fastening, sealing, and labeling device for railway wagons or the like



R. J. DENNETT r ATTORNEYS March 17, 1925.

' FASTENING, SEALING, AND LABELING DEVICE FOR RKILWAY WAGONS OR THE LIKE Patented Mar. 17, 1925 UNITED STATES ROGER. JOHN BENNETT, OF HASTINGS, CALCUTTA, BRITISH INDIA.

FASTENING, SEALING, AND LABELING DEVICE FOR RAILWAY WAGONS OR THE Application filed April 21, 1920.

To all whom/it may concern:

Be it known that I, RoenR JOHN DEN- NETT, a subject of His Majesty King George V, and whose address is 8 Canal Road, Hastings, Calcutta, British India, proprietor motor garage, have invented Improvements in and Relating to Fastening, Sealing, and Labeling Devices for Railway Wagons or the like, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved fastener and seal which may be used with railway wagons, warehouses, godowns and the like, for fastening doors or openings. The device is applicable to any opening fitted with a hasp and staple fastening, or with a fastening in which a cotter or equivalent is passed through the slots in lugs or their equivalent, and the opening secured by such sta le or cotter being fastened or sealed, the astening device being arranged to project on one or both sides of the staple or cotter or the like so as to prevent said hasp being opened or said cotter being withdrawn while the said device is in place.

The invention consists essentially of a fastening member, adapted to be passed through a hole in a cotter or the like and to engage a head therefor on the further side of the cotter, said engagement being effected either by deforming the projecting end of the member within said head, or by deforming a separate engaging device to take into a notch, slot or hole in the end of said fastening member and to secure the same within said head. Means may be further provided whereby a seal is aflixed to the said head in which the end of the fastening member is fastened. This seal may be arranged to be impressed in such a manner as to secure the strings or the like of a label whereby the said head may be distinguished. The seal may be impressed with distinguishing marks or device and may itself form the engaging device.

My invention will be described with ref erence to the accompanying drawings, in which like numbers of reference apply to like parts throughout, and in which Figures 1 to 7 show sections of different modifications of my fastening and sealing device, Figures 9 to 12 forms of my limpet or other Serial in). 375,562.

washer and Figure 8 shows the application section illustrates the, fastening device as 5 it is on being inserted into the hole, and the right half represents the same when the fastening member has been expanded or made to engage the head and is gripped in position and the seal has been applied.

Figure 1 shows one modification of'the fastening means wherein the fastening member or stud 1 passes through a hole 2 in a cotter or the like 3, and is made to engage a head 4 on the further side ofthe cotter. The engagement takes place by the hollow point 5 of the fastening member being expanded by suitable agency to engage said head. A seal of plastic material 6 may be inserted into the projecting'cup 7 .formed by the head and be gripped in place by the outer edges 8 of said cup being turned over, or the said head may have inturning edges 8 which will engage the plastic seal when it is deformed by pressure. It will be obvious that given a suitable tool the end 5 of the fastening member 1 and the plastic seal may both be dealt with at one operation'provided the seal is in the shape of a washer the end 5 being deformed as'shown at 5 and the seal 6 being pressed into place and impressed with suitable characters or. marks simultaneously.

In the modification shown in Figure 2 the stud or fastening member 1 passes through the hole 2 in the cotter 3. It also passes through the hole in the special head 4 A groove 9 is provided in the stud 1 into which groove a hollow ooned washer known as a limpet washer 10 may be ex panded, as shown at 11. Upon such limpet washer being pressed down its outer edge comes in contact with the inner surfaces of the head 4 and the central hole in such washer becomes reduced in diameter causing the edges of such hole to enter the groove 9 in the stud. A seal 12 may then be forced into the head and, being expanded, will be held in position by the inturning edge. 8 of such head. The operation which forces on this seal, which may. be made of lead or other suitable material, should also impress the code initials of the despatching station upon the outer periphery 12 of will rest. Upon such limpet or other washer being forced down into position as shown at 11 the inner edge will be contracted and engage in the groove 9. In certain modifications the inner surface of the head 4 may with advantage be co ned as shown at 31, with the result that when such head is torn off, this cone surface will again deform the flattened limpet Washer and, in pulling the same out of the groove 9, will cause such limpet washer to regain approximately its original conical shape. By such means it may be possible to use these limpet Washers again and again, thus reducing the cost of the fastening to a minimum. As a further precaution I may provide a hole 32 in the point of my stud through which hole wires or strings 33 from another portion of'the label 15 may be passed. Such wires 33 might pass through holes or slots 13 in the sides of the head 4*", or, if preferred, they might simply pass into the cavityinside the head M or 4 over the top, in which case, upon the plastic seal being pressed into position, such wires or strings would pass through and be embedded in such seal. A line of perforations 34: might be provided in the label 15, the object being that, when the fastening is broken open, the strings or wires 33 would be tornaway with the stud tearing the label off. It will be realized that the strings or wires 33 might, if preferred, be looped round stud or be fastened to a groove in said stud in such a manner as to cause said wires or strings to be pulled away with the stud when the fastening is broken.

A preferred arrangement, however, is that shown in Fig. 3, in which holes 16 are made in the sides 17 or other part of the lead-seal and the strings or wires 14 of the label 15 tied to said seal before the same is pressed into position.

Instead of the edges of the head 4: being turned over as shown at 8 so that they will grip the plastic seal upon the same being expanded in position the cavity in the head may have straight sides as shown in Fig. 4 and the seal 12 be caused to adhere to the point of the stud 1, the point of said stud being suitably grooved or deformed as shown at 35 to form a key for said seal. In a further modification my stud may be provided with a screw thread as shown at 36 in Fig. 6 and the head 4 be tapped with a corresponding thread, so that after the stud is passed through the cotter 3 the head may be screwed on. A hole 27, through which a wire or split pin might be passed could be provided in said stud to prevent the head L from being unscrewed after the seal is placed in position.

' In certain positions on a wagon there is often very little room' behind the cotter which can be used for the fastening. In such cases a modification such as that shown in Fig. 6 might be used, in which the cotter 3 has a hole 2 through it,'which hole has two notches or grooves 37 capable ofpassing a T-head 38 of the stud 1 The further side of the cotter 3 is in this caseprovided with two'notches 39, 39 into which the projections 38 of the T-head may enter. The stud can then be passed in from the front of the cotter until the T-head projections 38 are clear of the further side of the cot-ter; the stud can then be turned through 90? bringing the projections 38 opposite the notches or depressions 39, into which depressions the T-head can sink until the head is flush with thesides of the cotter.

Fig. 7 shows a modification ofthe-jarrangement whereby the parts may be assembled, theseal and label placed in position and the whole movement for forcing the limpet or other washen into engagement with the groove 9 and for embossing the seal may be performed as one. Inthis case a special Washer 40 may be interposed between the limpet Washer 10 or other deformable washer 10", said special washer being sufficiently rigid to cause the limpet washer or its equivalent to crush down into place, the space allowed between said special Washer 40 and the seal 12 being such that it will be approximately completely filled by said seal when the seal is properly-pressed home.

As an alternative the crushable washer 1O might be provided with knobs or projections 10 of such a height that they would certainly have to be crushed down when embossing the seal; said knobs 10, which preferably would be three or more in number, would make depressions in the lower side of the seal, but given a suitable size and shapeof the cavity in the head 4, the crushing down and embossing of the seal could be made to collapse the washer 10 with certainty sufliciently for it to engage the groove 9 securely.

Again, by suitable design, and by using a plastic material giving considerable resistance to deformation and suitable shearing resistance, I may avoid the use of limpet washers or their equivalent altogether andmerely rely upon the forcing of the plastic material into a groove 9 or 35 in the stud, said groove in such cases possibly being deeper and wider than shown in thedrawings so as to provide greater shearing area in the deformed plasticmaterial. In this case also'the label may be attached to the seal.

In another modification the deformable Washer used may have large square ended cuts 10 taken out of its inner periphery leaving 1 a series of inwardly projecting tongues 10 which are bent down forming a modified type of limpet washer; the inward projecting tongues being connected together by a ring ltlhwhioh. latter pa,rt, -may,, itE. plleferlledabe" flat." Such type ofymasher is shown in 1 in plan and: section. Thexobject of Shell typeisifto provide a washer. whiehi can; b e-,-very veasily flattenedidown to engage the, groove 9;; but .whieh will often considerable r i tance to all; these tongues 150 being sheared; oft.

The; lead or other plastic, sealmay, when used: witha washer such. as that lastder scribed, be, fastened to .theg washer so that he. wQitQgfifi l: be inserted into; .PQSir tion asonepiece and the Washerreceiyeither n cessary amount. 0t. deformat on audiythe. al be squeezed; into position andvreoeiwe i qui ed impression all .imone. operation. It. will generally be; found most. eoliivenr ent. for practical use to .adopta typeiin. which. the seal and, thewash lz are made to; gether or; are attached? to each other the ta otory before being issued; toytheqtrafli'c' h l of; ai way. The-design; could easily. suehthat the, labelv could: a be ta tened: to he seal" t manner hereinbefote deuor hed and: t e! oneioperation. fastens, seal and seo lielylabel: the; wagon; door:

Rig; 8: shows a method in which, by: using. curved cotter .1:, the difficulty due-to. therenot bei gsuflie e1nt spaeeto;getatthefasteng hay-beiaaioiideida Ienithis case. the slot-.42; n the t ple1 3'may be:- made lightly wider" than that necessary for a straight cottenaSQ ha a c rved co t r may be usedzafter" the as-p Hiepassediove t e: staple 1 and. such.

' Qtfi L i fa tened. in; a; manner asdescrihedi ovezin this specificati n,

n great advantage.- Wh chh. lab l. s cured; by two; sets ofiwireson fiastenin-gseon; e tedito the. di e ent portions of the label haslies; in theft-ant; that one set-.of these Wires may hea ached toathe head 4* While; the: ther set may be attached; t 0.-hl1.e:st:u.d;. If through carelessness, the limpehwasher, split; pin: or othen device which; has; been: usedvior fastening the stud has been insecunelyaput it-might' e possiblett iwithdtaw: th'isstud ndit open he wagon. door without. breaking the: seal. A5,. howev r;. one set. o i Win s from the label. is. or be, at ached to; the; said; studg, the; stud: could: not. be: withdrawn. without breaking. such conne tionsv Iitwill also. readily be LllldBTSllQOda-thith the attach:

ment ofv thesewires to; the studs; under the eal. will; prevent the stud be ng-forcedout.

: even. it origin lly .plzopenly. secured; unless;

at thev same. time these. Wires are, ruptured, and thusbshQW. that the tastening'hasbeen'. tampered With. Figs. 9 to 12 illustrate plans; andsections of: different. typesawhieh my limpet- Washer or its. equivalent may take".v

v Fig; 9.- illustnates a; conical type of; limpet;

asher 10. Thisftype maypreferablyrhave a; series: ofxsinallv cuts 103 taken; out of: its; inner: peniphenyfor the purpose, 013;,making; the. Washer: more easyatopress; dQWIh. It;

mamasma'y, also-have a series of inwardly projeot-- ing ridges, depressions or: @orrugati-onslO Which reduce the inner diameter ot the illustrated-in Eig. 1 0 with the exception that P ithas aseries oii knobs 10 .Wl1 l Gh ,kI1ObS are adapted; to receive the: pressure from the closing ram through the inedinm,oi -the seal itself so that this washer is; collapsed, en;- ga-ging the groove 9 in" the'stud, and-2.13113 sealj is compressed and embossed with the required code initials, ailli at oneoperation.

shows another type; ot washerz in" which; certain square ended: notches l0 are taken; outv of: the inner. per phery leaning, inr

watdly" projecting tongues; 10?? attached, to; a. SQlitli; ring; 110?, These: projecting. tonguesbeibent up at; an; anglertothe. ring LO so, that; the inner diameter-betweenthe ends,

otthese tongues sufficiently large; for the tobe slipped over the-point of the stud 1..

Washers-10f this; type can-"easilyzbeg collapsed or;fi attened-, in; which. process. these projecting tongues 10? enter the; groove: 9: in. the

stud and: hold thesame fimnly.v This type oiwashen isaa Velly convenient one; for; usev in.v conjunction; with the: seal the Washer and the-seal being fastened togethen so that they: ca 11i.'be. insertecl: and pressed. into-posh tion; one; piece; inone; operation,

will be; understoodi that in closing, fas-v te ling..- demoes; of a; type asherembetore described? suitable jigs: couldi begused. Said; ji'gs.-.wl1icl1;,may hate-jaws to embraceithe cotter:- 0. 2 he; like. and/or; to; hold the fastening; -1 nemb erthereincanreadily be; designed to operate to deform the end of the fiastening'member: inside the headt4', L 43;.01 to deform; some. device such; as) a limpet. or other- Washer to engage: saidmember inside said head Th se. igslnay by the: same or asubsequent movement; press-1 down; and/or einboss or impress the seal into said: head.v

Further the, samejigs may be so constructed that they w i-ll be' capable; 013-embracing. the said{ head or; if preferned; thecotter or the. like; While apuncluwhieh: mayv be. as part/ofv said: j ig operates, to break; open -.the- -fa stening; by punch ng" out the s ud,- shearing. through, breaking or deforming the expanded" end; 015 said stud or the limpetwashel'g deformable ashen, ring, soft ironv wire, split; pint orthelike Which hasbeen LlStldz-tofixi said stud into the; head. The punch; canzat thesame time shear out a disc from the centre of the seal. v

Suoh, punch. need only be the same. dia1n eter. as the point of the stud 1 and in usev could force out such stud by pressure only, shea'ningotf or breaking. awaythe. inner rim;

. of the collapsiblewasher whichhas engaged material which need be lost at each operation; -When used in this manner the heads 4:, 4 4 still has retained therein the essential part of the seal .with the code initials of the despatching station embossed thereon. If a label has been used, fastened to said head or fastened to the plastic material of such seal, such label will still be attached and will give the evidence required as to the identity of the wagon. If on checking the contents of the wagon it is found that it has not been tampered with these heads 4:? with the plastic seal pressed into them may be sent to store for the lead to be extracted by heating or otherwise so as to recover practically the whole of the material'used for the seal.

For railway practice, in cases where a label is not attached to the fastening or seal in one of the manners hereinbefore described, I may use a private number stamped on each seal. The seal would be inserted in the cavity arranged for it, with such private member inside against the bottom of such cavity, and thus hidden from view. Before inserting the seal the station master or other railway official closing and sealing the railway wagon would note the number on such sealing pellet and enter the same in the station records. The seal would then be inserted. into the cavity with the private number downwards and the stud engaging means,

be fixed or expanded. into place and the seal impressed with the code initials of the des: patching station. 7 Such a procedure will be a double safeguard. For example, a wagon might be sealed and stamped with the code initials of a despatching station some hours before despatoh; an unauthorized person might get hold of the fastening and sealing devices, destroy the fastening placed on the wagon by the proper authority. rob the wagon and refasten and seal it again. In the ordinary course of events such a robbery would'cause considerable trouble in investigation' as it would appear that the .wagon had been robbed before being sealed. It having been found on a wagon arriving at its destination that it had been robbed, the broken out head with the seal still held in its cavity could be sentto the head office for examination. The seal could be cut out and the private number verified, and valuable information helping to trace the thief perhaps obtained by a careful following up of the clue so given. It will be obvious to any operating ofiicial ofthe railway that there are very great possibilities in this part of my invention. It is quite easy to provide each station with a supply of lead pellets for seals, each pellet being stamped with "a private number and to make the station staff account for; each number used. 1

After once being.properly inserted and sealed this private number is hidden from view and can only be found by cutting the parts of the fastening to pieces to extract the lead seal whole. v I j To facilitate the. using .of my sealing methods each wagon-might'be fitted with a small metal pocket or receptacle on each side of the wagon-into whichvth e part of the fastening holding'the seal might .bedropped' and in which it might remain while the contents of the wagon were being checked. If the contents were found .to be correct such tasten'ingscould be thrown away if-dam aged, or sent to stores for the lead used for the sealing device to be recovered and used again andagain, and for the other parts to be re-iss'ued to the operating staff; if incorrect, the seal or head, seal and label might be sent for investigation. I

' It will be quite understood that I do not described or illustrated; but mayuse suit able -modi'lications of the same. For instance, instead of a limpet washer or a spring ring, I might, if I'preferred, use a small spring staple orU-shaped piece-ofwire which could be slipped into position and. sprung into the groove 9'and whichwould fasten the stud quite securely when the, seal had been forced into place. The head of the stud might'be counter-sunk or recessed into the cotter in any convenient manner. The under surface 19 of thefhead 4t might, if preferred, be provided with a series of shoulders or projections for. the purpose of denying the use of a [withdrawingjig with fixed jaws. The objectbeing to necessitate that a jig used for breaking open] the fastening end which is adapted to do so by gripping and holding the head 4:, 4 must have, jaws capable of gripping the underside These projections or shoulders 45 might determine the gripping points. They, by suitable'spacing, might necessitate the-useqof gripping jaws onthe breaking openi jig having three 'orqany desired numbers of claws. They might further prevent a ig with fixed jawsfbeing slipped in to grip the sur any 19 ,at predetermined points.

face 19 and would necessitate the use of a jig whose jaws opened to pass said shoulders and closed agaiirto make contact with the surface 19. The shoulder formed on my' stud might, if preferred, be slightly undercut, or bevelled so as 'to present a sloping surface into which the inner edge of the limpet washer could more easily be forced when the same is being flattened and ex' panded into the position in which it secures the stud: such a slope isindicated in Fig. 3.

Another modificationmy invention may fconfine myself exactly to the arrangements 9Q I, j

take is the provision .ofa type of bayonet joint-between the point of the stud and the special head. In this modification the pointof the stud is provided with .a hole through which a pin is passed before the stud is passed through the cotter. The hole. in the cotter and in the head is slotted and the head also has certain depressions'forined in it so that the stud can be pushed'through, rotatedthrough a convenient angle and fall into; these depressions, or be forced up ramps. ,Upon the lead :seal being forced into position the stud cannot 'be further rotated to withdraw the same unless either the pin is sheared through or the seal extracted.

"In a further modification the inner surface of the special head has a sharp taper, giving only a small clearance between it and the stud. A soft iron wire ring can 'be forced into such opening and slipped into the groove formed for lockingthe stud, such stud if necessary being allowed to have a little longitudinal clearance in the cotter for the purpose. The object of this modifica tion is to prevent the soft wire ring being extracted after it is once in position.

I do not confine the use of my invention 7' to doors and windows only, but may use the same for general purposes. For instance a modificatlon of the same might be used for fastening axle box covers.

' w In a further modification of myi-nvention I use a stud in conjunction with a head and a plastic seal the material of the seal itself being relied upon togive the necessary re sistance to the fastening being broken. For this purpose collapsible washers may beembedded in the plastic material forn iin'gthe )mation or shear.

seal; or, alternatively, some sort of reinforcement in the shape of a wire mesh or metallic or other suitable skeleton may be embedded in the seal material to' give the same alone an increased resistance to defor- Such sealing material enteringthe groove 9 or 3'5 in the stud may be relied on to constitute the fastening means. The plastic seal indicated in Figure 4: maybe of this type and be adapted to secure the stud into the head without the help of other agency.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inventicm and in what manner the same is te be performed, I declare that what'I' claim is.:'

y l. A seal of" the character specified"comprising a stud, a head having one side formed' 'with a centrally arranged opening receiving said stud and the other-side of said head being provided with a cavity communicating with said opening and receiving the forward portion of'the stud, and a sealing medium received in said cavity and engaging said stud. v

, 2. A seal of the character specified comprising a stud, ahead having one side 3. A seal of the character specified co1'n-' prising a stud, a head having one side formed with acentrally arranged opening receiving said stud and the other side of said head being provided with a cavity communicating with said opening and receiving the forward portion of the stud,' and a sealing medium received .in said. cavity and engaging said stud, there being means to en gage the stud and hold the same against accidental displacement.

4. A seal of the character specified comprising ---a. stud, a head having one side formed with a centrally arrangedopenin receiving said stud and the other's'ide of said head being provided with a cavity communicating with said opening and receiving the forward portion of the stud, and a sealing medium received in saidcavity "and engag ing said stud, there being the stud and hold the same tal displacement, the exterior of said head beingIbeveled for engagement by atool.

In testimony whereo-fjfI hereto affix my signature in presence ofa witness, this 25th dayof February 1920. 7 ROGER JOHN DENNETl'.

Witness: i

A. O. YARROW.

means toengage against acciden- 

